News from North Greenville University

Bomar Provides Lead Gift For New NGU Baseball Stadium

Tigerville, SC (February
12, 2019)
Longtime North Greenville University supporter George E. Bomar has given the
private university $600,000 toward construction of a new baseball stadium on
NGU’s Tigerville campus.

The
George Bomar Family Stadium at Ashmore Park will include a President’s Box
suite, a hospitality/media building, an entry plaza, and a 300-seat stadium
structure directly behind home plate. NGU broke ground on the project on
Saturday, Feb. 9, before a Crusaders doubleheader versus Newberry College.

“George
Bomar is enabling us to move forward with Phase Two of our Ashmore Park
project, and is providing a great stadium facility to complement beautiful Ray
and Bea Dillard Field,” said NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant Jr.

Speaking
at the groundbreaking ceremony, Bomar said he has
appreciated the opportunity to support NGU over the past several decades. The
former University of South Carolina baseball catcher said he was pleased to
invest in the Crusaders program led by fellow Gamecocks alumnus Landon Powell.

During
his remarks, Bomar offered a light-hearted reminder to current members of the
NGU baseball team in attendance. “If I’m a part of something, I expect to win,”
said the Fountain Inn resident and former member of the Greenville County
Council.

The
President’s Box will offer an events venue at the stadium, with the
hospitality/media building providing space for a press box, restrooms, and
concessions.

NGU
officials expect the stadium project to be completed during the Fall 2019
semester, ready for the Crusaders’ 2020 regular season.

The
first phase of Ashmore Park was a reworking of the current playing surface,
costing $1.2 million, which was funded by private donations. Bea Dillard, of
Spartanburg, made the lead gift to begin the Ray and Bea Dillard Field project
in memory of her husband, Ray. The refurbishments included the installation of
artificial turf with a standard dirt mound, new outfield fencing, backstop
fencing, scoreboard, bullpen, and batting cages. That phase was completed in
early 2018, making NGU the first college or university to have an all-turf
baseball field in the state of South Carolina.

Bomar
was born a short distance from the Tigerville campus on Camp Creek Road in
1934. Having served on many boards, he was a leader in Greenville County and
was chairman of Greenville County Council, the first president of the SC
Association of Counties from Greenville County, and in 1995 was awarded the
state’s highest honor given to a civilian, the Order of the Palmetto.

A
lifelong active Baptist, Bomar’s support of NGU began over two decades ago. A
former member of NGU’s Council of Advisors, he and his wife, Dr. Barbara Bomar,
are Christian Ministry Scholarship Fund and Crusader Club members. They have financially supported other
university projects. The university’s College of Mass Communication facilities
in the Jacks and Deborah Tingle Student Life Center are named in Bomar’s honor. NGU bestowed an honorary doctorate on
Bomar in 2005. The Dr. George Bomar and
Dr. Barbara Bomar Endowment Fund was
established in 2007 to provide scholarships for Mass Communication students.

Future
phases of the Ashmore Park developing include new student housing overlooking the baseball field.

Also,
a wellness and outdoor recreational
center is planned for construction beyond
the right-field fence, offering views of
both Dillard Field and mountains to the north of the campus. The final phase
will be a renovation to the current baseball fieldhouse to include a players’
lounge, newly renovated locker room facilities, coaches’ offices, laundry, and
storage.

We
are grateful to George Bomar for his commitment to invest in our
student-athletes and the campus community through this great project,” said
Fant. “Ashmore Park is a vital part of our university, combining residential
space, wellness facilities and an athletics venue. This is a major step in strengthening our campus resources.”

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